SAIFEDDINE HELAL

Composer · Producer · Conductor · Multi-Instrumentalist

Saifeddine Helal, known professionally as SAYDN, is a Paris-based Tunisian composer, songwriter, producer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist whose work spans film, television, theatre, video games, VR, and large-scale immersive experiences. Trained at Berklee College of Music and the Conservatoire International de Paris, and a member of the Recording Academy, he has scored more than 50 productions across international screen, stage, and interactive media.

His screen credits include Wedding Rehearsal, produced by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad and directed by Amira Diab; Tuk-Tuk, an award-winning short film shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film; and Empty Lands, an American/Egyptian short film that won the Silver Yusr Award for Best Short Film at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

His feature work includes Mugabe, a film about the life and death of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, starring Hakeem Kae-Kazim and directed by Robert O. Peters; Boxing Day: A Day After Christmas, also directed by Robert O. Peters; and Marrying a Campbell, an award-winning feature directed by Ayana Saunders. Additional credits include the American sci-fi feature TimeWarpers, the PBS feature The Society, the PBS nature documentary Thunder on the Lake, produced by Mantis and Moon Production, and Glance from the Edge, a Bulgarian dance film directed by acclaimed choreographer Kosta Karakashyan.

Saifeddine’s training and professional development connect classical writing, orchestration, film scoring, and screen-music production. At Berklee College of Music, his curriculum exposed him to the creative philosophy and professional wisdom of Quincy Jones. In France, he studied classical writing, harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration with Marie-Jeanne Séréro and Françoise Levéchin-Gangloff. His media-music development also includes training with Dennis S. Sands, the award-winning Hollywood scoring mixer whose credits include Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, The Shawshank Redemption, Spider-Man, and Avengers: Endgame, as well as mentorship from Dr. Norman Ludwin, Hollywood orchestrator and educator, whose credits include Jurassic World, Star Trek Into Darkness, Inside Out, Super 8, and John Carter.

In his professional work, Saifeddine has collaborated with acclaimed Golden Globe music director, composer, arranger, and Hollywood orchestrator Geoff Stradling, whose credits include work for the Golden Globe Awards and major studio productions. He has also worked with Dave Jewerén Moore, score mixer, music editor, and recording engineer, whose credits include Madame Web, Troll, Black Crab, Ronja the Robber’s Daughter, and the Battlefield video game franchise.

His theatre and immersive work includes scores for Riyadh Season, the Sharjah Performing Arts Academy, and the Riyadh Theater Festival, including a production recognized there with three awards. In interactive media, he has composed for VR titles including Wolf and Ships and The Builders.

Saifeddine’s approach is bespoke: he builds a tailored sonic identity around the emotional, visual, and dramatic language of each project. His music moves between cinematic orchestration, hybrid scoring, rhythmic architecture, intimate textures, electronic sound design, and character-driven musical storytelling — always in service of the picture, the director’s vision, and the emotional needs of the story.

A master percussionist before becoming a screen composer, Saifeddine brings a strong sense of rhythm, physicality, and movement to his scores, drawing fluidly across cultural and genre traditions. He has recorded and conducted orchestral scores with the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, and has performed or collaborated with artists and composers including Alain Mallet, Tarek Yamani, Hindi Zahra, Emel Mathlouthi, Addictive TV, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Amine Bouhafa, and the Tunisian Symphonic Orchestra. He also contributed to “You & I” by Chicago-based artist Daniel Juhre, submitted for Grammy consideration in two categories in 2021.

“A ‘once in a blue moon’ kind of musician. His talents transcend far beyond his principal instrument… Saifeddine can play so many percussion styles, he can write, arrange, lead, follow, you name it.”
— Alain Mallet
(Sting, Paul Simon)

“One of the most highly regarded musicians on the scene today… His commitment to perfecting the complex rhythmic material that my music required was exemplary.”
— Tarek Yamani
(Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock)

“A complete musician… without boundaries and limitations. His musical vision is vivid and full of imagination, and his musical taste fits perfectly in each environment he is in.”
— Layth Al-Rubaye
(Danilo Pérez)